Foreword - Lesson 2 - Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security (2014)

Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security (2014)

Foreword

From my initial research into reading the emotions of the face, to my more recent collaboration with the Dalai Lama in writing Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion (Holt Paperbacks, 2009), understanding people and their interactions with others has been my passion. I have spent decades examining not only how emotion is displayed, but also what people do and do not understand about why their emotions are triggered and how they behave once they become emotional. Doing so has enlarged my perspective on how to improve emotional life.

A little over four years ago, Chris reached out to me with his idea of blending my life's work with his research related to social engineering. It was very interesting to listen to him talk about his work. He made people aware of the manipulative efforts of certain people to exploit them, and he showed them how to reduce their personal and/or corporate vulnerability to such efforts. The goal of combining our work to help mitigate this risk was the key factor in my choosing to support Chris in the writing of this book.

Chris has nearly embarrassed me with his praise for my work and his interest in it. However, there is a benefit! He has worked hard to make my work known and, more importantly, useful to those working in social engineering. He also has been very responsive to the feedback I have given him and to the input provided by PEG trainer Paul Kelly, his technical editor. PK invested a great deal of time in reviewing this book, making suggestions and providing relevant examples of his own, drawn from his extraordinary experience in the fields of intelligence and national security.

Specifically, in reading Chapter 5 on facial expressions, and the section in Chapter 8 on conversational signals, you have the benefit of my work, PK's experience and insight, and Chris's knowledge of social engineering—an exciting, unique, and, I hope, rewarding blend.

Enjoy this book. Use its information and the decades of research that have been used to compile it to keep yourself, your family, your coworkers, and your business more secure.

Paul Ekman, PhD
Professor of psychology emeritus, UCSF
President, Paul Ekman Group LLC (PEG)
November 2013